St. Catherine's Church

An architectural monument of early Classicism. It was built in 1771-1776 (architect Y. M. Felten) on land allotted in 1770 by merchant I. L. Lazarev (Lazaryan) and consecrated on 18 February 1780. The large internal capacity of the building is attained by an exquisitely light drum crowned with a cupola. The southern facade facing Nevsky Prospect is decorated with an Ionic portico and fretwork. In 1908-09, the building was restored (the architect A. I. Tamanyan). In 1930, the church was closed, inner paintings and the iconostasis with images by artist K. L. Christinek were lost, the internal size of the building was reduced by the addition of new floors to house decorators’ workshops. In 1993, the church was given back to the Armenian community. It was consecrated after the repairs on 12 July 2000.